Virginia Makes Recreational Marijuana Legal Starting This Summer - Governor

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 08th April, 2021) The General Assembly of the US state of Virginia has passed a bill legalizing simple possession of marijuana starting July 1 for anyone over the age of 21, Governor Ralph Northam has announced.

"We made history as the first state in the South to legalize the simple possession of marijuana. I am pleased that the General Assembly accepted my proposal to make this change on July 1, 2021 nearly three years earlier than planned," Northam said in a Wednesday statement, after the General Assembly session.

According to a summary on the state legislature's website, the new law on the legalization of marijuana in Virginia will go into effect on July 1 this year instead of January 2024, as originally planned.

In February, Virginia lawmakers approved marijuana legalization but Governor Northam sent the bill back with several revisions, including changes to the enactment time.

The new law makes possession of up to an ounce (28.3 grams) of marijuana legal for adults over 21 years of age. The law also "modifies several other criminal penalties related to marijuana, and imposes limits on dissemination of criminal history record information related to certain marijuana offenses," according to the state legislature's website.

Home cultivation of up to four marijuana plants per household will also be allowed starting this summer.

Virginia decriminalized marijuana last year. On Wednesday, it became the 16th US state to legalize the possession of small amounts of marijuana.

Last week, New York signed a law legalizing recreational marijuana.

Meanwhile, medical marijuana is legal in over 30 US states.